Zayn Malik Senses Public's 'Jealousy' Toward His Girlfriend

Being Zayn Malik isn't always easy, especially when you're the subject of a constant barrage of rumors and speculation about your personal life. Given that the One Direction singer is in a high-profile relationship with fellow U.K. pop star, Perrie Edwards (from the girl group Little Mix), it's no surprise that everyone wants to follow the couple's every move.

In a new interview, he has this message for his fans and haters who might speculate that there's trouble in paradise:

"I don't really understand that. I guess there's a sense of jealousy because I have a girlfriend now while I was a bit of a 'bad boy' before," he told U.K. magazine, Now about the allegations that he's cheated on his girlfriend.

Malik and Edwards began their on-again, off-again romance in 2011. But, currently, they are very much on. And, Malik notes in the interview that the two can easily shrug off the rumors.

"When I'm away at work, she understands because it's the business. Our jobs are full-on every single hour of the day. She gets that because she has to do exactly the same thing," he said. "We have a lot of trust and understanding between us. I think that's why our relationship works. Perrie has a lot of trust in me and I have a lot of trust in her. That's why it works."

He is no stranger to dealing with the good and the bad of fame, experiencing some Internet bullying. It got so bad, he left Twitter over the summer citing online "hate" as a reason for his departure. He returned a short time later, noting that the support of his fans was too strong to keep him away for long.

These days, Zayn is going to have to make some special time for Perrie as he is about to embark on a rather busy schedule for 1D. They are quickly approaching their November 13 release date for Take Me Home, with promotional duties likely taking them around the world. They have also been hard at work banking videos for the release. While no follow-up single to "Live While We're Young" has been confirmed for the U.S. market, Malik did confirm that they recently shot a video for their next single in the U.K., "Little Things."